Fifteen years isn't enough time to write about all of the amazing ways Milwaukee's inventors, artists, programmers and the creatively courageous harness technology to make the world more interesting.

But it will have to do. This past week was my last at the Journal Sentinel, and this is my final column. And before you start opining on a dying newspaper industry and layoffs, no, that is not the reason I am leaving.

Writing about personal technology for the newspaper was as much fun as it sounds. I often had the chance to see and try new technologies before they were unleashed upon the public - and share my thoughts with you. | March 3, 2012»Read Full Blog Post(10)

LEGO lovers, this is your dream job: LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago is looking to hire a master model builder to create new exhibits and models. And it's holding a contest to find that special someone with skills, creativity and love of LEGO for the job.

Candidates, who must be 18 or older to apply, should log on to the center's website by Feb. 17 and upload a resume and a one-minute YouTube video showing why they should the next Master Model Builder. The Lords of LEGO will select 10 finalists, who will be invited to a public "build-off" on March 4.

Those 10 builders will be buried in "mountains" of pre-selected LEGO bricks and must build complex models using only the bricks provided. A judging panel made up of adults and children will rate each builder's creations and crown a winner.

There is no salary range mentioned in the job posting, which is officially listed in Schaumburg. The requirements and qualifications include in depth knowledge of the construction trades; strong artistic vision and design skills; excellent computer skills, and strong communication skills, among other virtues. | Jan. 31, 2012

The Fabulous LEGO Ladies of Milwaukee think science, robots and programming are cool.

So cool, in fact, that the Girl Scout troop and Lego League team will be showing off their skills at STEMfest on Saturday at Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, a free day celebrating science at the museum.

"They are extremely excited," said coach Michelle Mueller, noting that the public exhibition of the team's robot will be great prep for upcoming competitions. "One of the key components of Lego League is professionalism and sharing what you know with the public." | Nov. 3, 2011»Read Full Blog Post

If you are going to build a five-foot-tall Leaning Tower of Pisa out of thousands of LEGOs, best to enlist the talent of young, skilled engineers. And that's exactly Festa did in recruiting Justin Cosgrove (pictured below), a senior at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, whose team will finish off the showpiece 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the school's Kern Center.

The students started the project in February, investing about 130 hours over 90 days to craft the tower out of about 18,000 LEGOs. The finished tower will travel to Henry W. Maier Festival Park in July to be on display during Festa Italiana (July 21-24) as part of its Piazza di LEGO – a new area where children can play in a daily LEGO building contests.

Student volunteers from MSOE and the American Institute of Architects-Milwaukee will help children with their builds and teach them about careers in engineering. Milwaukee’s Miller Park LEGO creation, built by MSOE alumni Tim Kaebisch in 2008, will also be on display at Piazza di LEGO.

Unfortunately, Festa representatives say that the final installation of LEGOs for the Leaning Tower at MSOE is not open to the public, so you'll have to wait until Festa to see the final build build in all its glory. | May 24, 2011

Team 4th Motor, an all-female squad from East Troy, over the weekend won the champion's award in the first North American FIRST LEGO League Open at LEGOLAND California.

The team is made up of sisters Rachel Hunter, Lauren Hunter, Caitlin Hunter and friend Callie Vogel and coached by the sisters' father, Shawn Hunter.

More than 70 teams from 33 U.S. States, as well as Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, competed in the robotics event. The challenges in the competition included designing and building small robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS and then programming them to carry out tasks related to modern medical issues. | May 23, 2011»Read Full Blog Post(1)